Blockchain technology empowers telecom network operation

Telecom operators are deploying the fifth generation (5G) networks around the world which promises high information transmission rate, wide network coverage, low communication delay, and easy access to a large number of devices. However, during the construction and operation of 5G, telecom operators face many challenges, such as insufficient frequency resources, low efficiency of network management, information opacity, risks of data interoperability, and network privacy vulnerabilities. As 5G is generally deployed in heterogeneous networks with massive ubiquitous devices, it is quite necessary to provide secure and decentralized solutions. Blockchain is a distributed system maintained by multiple parties with inherit features including decentralization, traceability and tamperproof. These features collectively contribute to a new application ecosystem where transactions are secure and trustworthy. Therefore, blockchain is expected to integrate with 5G networks to build safer and more reliable mobile network infrastructures. This paper firstly discusses the merits of blockchain technology and the benefits of integrating it with 5G networks. Then a variety of applications of blockchain technology in telecom network operation are reviewed, including spectrum sharing, international roaming settlement, network operation management, number selection management and supply chain management. In the end, we show our recently advance in integrating blockchain in 5G by introducing a multi framework based blockchain service network architecture deployed in real environment.